10 Ways Thrifty People Save Money On The Adult Coloring Craze

I first discovered the adult coloring craze through pictures that started showing up on my Instagram feed. Then I saw that Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom had joined the fun. Soon after her my daughter took the plunge.

Finally, I just couldn’t be an observer anymore; I had to be a participant—I joined the adult coloring craze.

As with any other hobby I have ever taken up, I dipped into the adult coloring craze the thrifty way.

10 Ways Thrifty People Save Money On The Adult Coloring Craze

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1. Try it Before You Buy it

I wasn’t sure at first if I really would like coloring as an adult or not, so I first borrowed a coloring book of my teenage daughter‘s and used felts that I already owned to color it. Once I discovered that I found it really relaxing at the end of a long day, I invested in some better felts and a coloring book of my own.

2. One at a Time

The simplest way to save money on any craft–including adult coloring books and supplies–is to not buy more than you need. I don’t know how many times now I have caught myself going, “Oh, I have to have that coloring book!” Then my thrifty sensibilities kick in, and I say, “No, not until you finish the one you have.”

Currently, I do have two coloring books, but only because my son gave me one for Christmas, so technically, I didn’t stray from my goal.

3. Use Coupons

Craft stores such as Jo-Ann’s, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby carry a selection of adult coloring books and supplies. You can use the 40% to 50% off coupons these stores give to those who subscribe by email and/or snail mail to purchase your coloring books and/or supplies at a deep discount. Some of these craft stores also have smartphone apps that give you coupons.

4. Shop Dollar Stores

One of my current coloring books comes from 5 Below, a dollar store in our area. It cost me just $4, and the paper is of good quality, and the designs are great.

5. Watch For Freebies

I noticed that the site Money Saving Mom often lists free downloadable coloring books available through kindle. I am not sure how exactly these free coloring books work, I assume you just print out the pages, but it certainly does seem like an inexpensive way to get into the adult coloring craze.

6. Daily Deal Sites

Over the Christmas present buying season I noticed pretty much all the daily deal sites I am a part of were offering great deals on adult coloring books and supplies. Even now that the Christmas season is over I am still seeing them pop up on daily deal sites.

Here are a few daily deal sites where I have seen adult coloring books and supplies:

• Zulily
• Groupon
• Living Social

7. Use Discounted Gift Cards

I have often bought discounted gift cards from Cardpool for Jo-ann’s to stack with coupons on purchasing yarn for my knitting addiction. You could easily apply this same technique to save money on adult coloring books and supplies.

8. Ask For Them as Gifts

When my children asked me what they could get me for Christmas, I told them a new coloring book (talk about roll reversal–the mom asking her children for coloring books). My son got a great one!

Beyond new coloring books you could also suggest gift buyers purchase:

• High quality pencil crayons
• A set of vibrant felts
• A deluxe pencil bag pouch
• A lap desk
• An eraser that removes pencil crayon and pen marks

Thrifty people love it when they can give gifts that get used and when they receive gifts they can use.

9. Use Point-Earned Gift Cards to Purchase

One of my favorite ways to pay for splurges when the budget is tight is to use gift cards I have earned through point reward programs. Most of these programs have ways you can earn points for things you are already doing online like web searches or through simple tasks that you can do while you are doing something else.

Here are 3 point programs that offer a large variety of gift card options:

• Swagbucks (I have readers earning $100 a month through Swagbucks)
• InstaGC (I love that InstaGC offers instant e-gift cards–no waiting for your reward)
• Prize Rebel (a new to me company that I am just starting to try out)

10. Stack The Savings

As I mentioned above, I often will stack savings by using a coupon on an item and then paying for the purchase with a discounted gift card from Cardpool. I often make my savings even deeper by shopping online for the item I want through either a point rewards program like Swagbucks or MyPoints that pays me in points or through a cashback site like eBates or TopCashBack that will gives me a percentage back on my purchase.

When things get really exciting for a thrifty person is when we can get something on sale, use a coupon on it, and then pay with a discounted gift card–all the while earning cash back. That is a quadruple dip savings! The ultimate in thrifty saving stacking.

Are you part of the adult coloring craze? How do you save money on adult coloring books and supplies?

Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon–get your copy here!